International Conference Series on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport
International Conference Series on Competition and Ownership in Land Passenger Transport
Aspectu, Founder Maas Global (Whim App), Co-Founder Impact Market
Sampo Hietanen is a Finnish transport innovator and entrepreneur, widely recognised as the originator of the concept of Mobility as a Service (MaaS. He is the founder and former CEO of MaaS Global Ltd., the company behind the pioneering “Whim” app—one of the world’s first platforms to combine public and private transport services into a seamless subscription-based mobility offering. With a background in civil engineering and intelligent transport systems (ITS), Hietanen has held senior executive roles across the mobility sector and founded several international businesses. His work focuses on reducing reliance on private car ownership by promoting integrated, sustainable, and user-centric transport solutions, shaping global discussions on the future of urban mobility. Sampo with David Hensher introduced the idea of mobility as a Feature (MaaF) which proposes that mobility is an input and not the output to a broader service solution.
Professor, Pontifica Universidad Catolica De Chile
Juan Carlos Muñoz (Phd at UC Berkeley, 2002) is a Professor in Transport Engineering and Logistics at the Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile. His main interests are public transport planning and operations, urban planning, logistics and traffic flow theory. From 2022 to 2026 Prof Muñoz was appointed Minister of Transport and Telecommunications of Chile. During his term, Chile greatly improved the quality of its public transport service, thanks to the introduction of electric buses, fare collection technology, bidding processes and regulation in many cities. Before becoming Minister Prof Muñoz led the Centre of Sustainable Urban Development (CEDEUS), the Institute for Sustainable Development and the Bus Rapid Transit Centre of Excellence. He has been very active in the Thredbo, CASPT and ISTTT academic communities. He has co-authored over 100 publications. Three spin-off companies have started out of his research. Prof Muñoz is a public transport enthusiast and daily user.
Director, Institute of Transport And Logistics Studies, University of Sydney, Australia
Professor David Hensher is a globally recognised transport economist and academic, specialising in transport policy, travel behaviour analysis, and mobility systems. He is the Founding Director of the Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies (ITLS) at the University of Sydney Business School. Widely regarded as a pioneer in discrete choice modelling and transport economics, Professor Hensher has made significant contributions to understanding travel behaviour and designing evidence-based transport policies. His research spans public transport, road pricing, and emerging mobility solutions, and he is among the most highly cited economists in his field. He has received numerous international honours, including the IATBR Lifetime Achievement Award and the Engineers Australia Transport Medal, and was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2023 for his services to transport research and policy.
The Relay Trust/Kelsian Group
Neil’s career in transport began as a trainee manager with the Busways Group in western Sydney in 1972. In 1974 he formed a partnership that purchased Manly Bus Service in Sydney and in 1975 he established Urban Transport Systems. He re-entered the bus operations business in 1995, eventually owning a third share of Transit Systems, the largest privately-owned bus operation in Australia. Concurrently with this growth in Australia, Neil moved to London in 2012 where he participated in the acquisition of further bus operations, both in London (2013) and Singapore (2016). In 2020 his interests were purchased by SeaLink Travel Group (now the Kelsian Group), an international leader in the transition from diesel to electric for urban buses and in hydrogen power trains. Neil is a Non-Executive Director and major shareholder in the Kelsian Group. He also founded The Relay Trust in 2016 and generously funds the Thredbo Scholarships.
TU Delft, the Netherlands
Didier van de Velde is an international expert of institutional reforms in public transport and railways. He is the head of inno-V-consultancy, which specialises in carrying out projects for transport authorities with the aim of improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public transport. Didier is also a researcher at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands where he teaches on topics such as public governance in public transport and railways.
Director, Institute For Climate Change And Sustainable Development, University Of Malta
Professor Maria Attard is a leading expert in transport geography and policy, with extensive experience in both academia and practice. She is a Professor at the University of Malta and Director of the Institute for Climate Change and Sustainable Development. Her work focuses on transport strategy, policy development, and sustainable mobility, supported by expertise in Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and digital mapping. Professor Attard currently serves as Chair of NECTAR (Network on European Communications and Transport Activity Research) and is member of the Steering Committee of the World Conference on Transport Research. She is Associate Editor for Case Studies in Transport Policy and European Transport Research Review.
Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Molde University College, Norway
Lisa Hansson is Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Molde University College, Norway, where she leads the research group on Sustainable Mobility and Urban Development. She has extensive experience in research and leading projects related to political reforms, policy implementation, and regulation. Lisa serves as Editor-in-Chief of RETREC, Journal of Transport Economics, and chairs the Governance and Decision-Making Special Interest Group of the World Transport Conference Society (WCTRS). She recently co-edited the volume Public Participation in Transport in Times of Change, which explores emerging challenges and opportunities for citizen engagement in transport policy and planning.
Director, Institute For Climate Change And Sustainable Development, University Of Malta
Prof. Panagiotis (Panos) Papaioannou is Professor Emeritus at the Transport Dept, School of Civil Engineering at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. He has 45+ years of experience in the Transport field. His areas of specialisation include Mobility Management, Public Transit, Transport Economics, Traffic Management, Road Safety, Applications of New Technologies in Transport, Project Evaluation and Public Procurement Law. Professor Papaioannou has participated in numerous European Union research projects over the last two decades addressing transport research and policy areas as well as travel behaviour, public transit and road safety topics. He is the author of 150+ scientific papers published in journals and proceedings of international conferences as well as several other publications in the transport sector.
General Manager, Malta Public Transport
Konrad Pulé has been involved in transport projects for the last 22 years. In 2015 he took on his current role of General Manager of Malta Public Transport, which forms part of an international group of transport and mobility companies operating in various countries, and is contracted to operate all scheduled public transport services in Malta. Konrad also sits on the board of directors of Gozo Highspeed Limited which is the company contracted to operate fast ferry services between the islands of Malta and Gozo. He previously served as Chief Officer for Land Transport within the Authority for Transport in Malta, where he was responsible for the regulation of driver training, testing and licensing, vehicle registration, goods transport, and passenger transport. With an academic background in business and finance, he also worked in the hospitality sector for a number of years before moving into transport.
Professor in Transport Planning and Engineering, University of Cape Town, South Africa
Professor Marianne Vanderschuren graduated from three different Dutch Universities with a BSc Eng (1989), an MSc Eng (2000) and a PhD (2006). She has over 35 years’ experience in the field of transport engineering and (smart) mobility. She joined the University of Cape Town in 2000 and holds the DSI-NRF/CSIR Co-funded Smart Mobility Research Chair since 2022. Marianne’s people centric research puts major emphasis on vulnerable road users, transport equity and sustainability, including energy efficiency and the reduction of road crashes. Transport modelling, project appraisal and the development of tailor-made decision support tools are used to assess private and public transport systems holistically.
Executive Head – Scheduled Public Transport at Transport Malta
Ivan Pierre Vella’s experience in the regulation of scheduled public transport and other transport related disciplines within Malta’s regulating body (Transport Malta) spans the last 16 years. This, following a successful managerial career in various roles within the private sector. He was involved from the onset in the transformation of the Scheduled Public Transport service into the current Concession Type of service. His main responsibilities include the overseeing of the Concession Agreement, the regulation of the concessionaire’s responsibilities and delivery, route network development, the financial aspects and innovation within the service. Ivan Pierre is a graduate in Business Management from the University of Malta.
